NHL Rumors: Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, Calgary Flames

Welcome to the Tuesday of Full Press Hockey‘s NHL Rumors. The trade deadline is still over a month away, but that does not mean the rumors are going away. Therefore we will be upping our coverage from two days a week to four days a week. The February 8th edition of NHL Rumors will cover the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens and Calgary Flames

Toronto Maple Leafs – Josh Manson

Rumor: Per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, Anaheim Ducks defenceman Josh Manson has the Toronto Maple Leafs on his no-trade list

Friedman on 32TP:

Somebody told me that Toronto is on (Josh) Manson’s no trade list, that doesn’t mean it can’t happen, that just means if you really want to do it you have to work it a bit.

— NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) February 4, 2022

It is no secret the Toronto Maple Leafs are looking to upgrade their defence with Jake Muzzin on the sideline. And one player the Maple Leafs have looked into has been Josh Manson. Manson’s name has been brought up in trade talks before going back to last year. And it is no surprise the Maple Leafs would want to add a physical defenceman. That is something the team has been lacking especially in their recent playoff defeats.

However, it is believed that the Maple Leafs are on his no-trade list. The pending unrestricted free-agent has a modified no-trade clause and just submitted a list of 12 teams he does not want to get traded to. Even though the Maple Leafs are on that list, does not mean they could not acquire him. It just means the Maple Leafs will have a little more work to do if they want to land him. With the way Canada is with the COVID restrictions, Manson would prefer to be traded to a team south of the border.

It will be interesting to see if the Maple Leafs look someplace else for a depth defenceman maybe a player like Ben Chiarot or remain status quo.

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Montreal Canadiens – Jeff Petry

Rumor: Per Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff says if the Montreal Canadiens move Jeff Petry they will have to eat some salary.

As reported last week, the Montreal Canadiens are looking to move defenceman Jeff Petry. Though his value is low this season as he along with the rest of the Canadiens are having terrible seasons, does not mean Petry forgot to play hockey. Over the last four seasons, Petry has put up 170 points. So he still has value. Maybe not at the three years remaining at $6.25 million. But if the Canadiens were to retain a percentage of that, teams would be interested in taking on Jeff Petry.

Seravalli notes that many people that he has talked to said, Petry can still drive the play. Not only that he can still skate and compete at a high level while remaining quite durable. Though his offence may be dependent on the players he is playing with, Petry can still contribute to a team in a positive way. That sounds like an endorsement of a player, who is still effective not one that is on the downside of his career.

Calgary Flames – Matthew Tkachuk

Rumor: According to Hailey Salavin and Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic it could take between $9 million-$10 million to keep Matthew Tkachuk in Calgary for the long-term

The Calgary Flames are in a bit of a predicament comes the off-season. Not only do they have several unrestricted free agents they need to worry about but a major restricted free agent as well. Matthew Tkachuk is in the final year of his deal and is playing well for the Flames. Tkachuk is second on the team in points with 45 (20 goals and 25 assists) and is expected to get a pay raise next season from the $7 million he is currently receiving. And most projections have Tkachuk making between $9-$10 million a season.

Unfortunately for the Flames, they are up against an already tight salary cap. Even with the cap going up by $1 million, the Flames already have $50.2 million committed to 11 players for the 2022-23 season. That gives them only $32.2 million to sign Tkachuk, Johnny Gaudreau and Andrew Mangiapane. Not to mention they have to fill out the rest of the roster by adding depth players along the way. While that may seem like a lot the Flames could burn through that money real quick on two players.

You know general manager Brad Treliving will have a trick or two up his sleeve to keep the core players together. But it will not be easy especially with Tkachuk, who may not be open to the idea of staying in Calgary long-term. There are options on the table, but this is a situation worth watching especially if the Flames fizzle out in the playoffs or do not make the playoffs period.

That concludes this edition of Full Press Hockey’s NHL rumors. Be sure to look for our NHL Rumors article on Wednesday.